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The Maya
More than 1,000 years before Europeans landed on the shores of the Americas, the Maya developed a science-based civilization in the almost total isolation of the tropical lands of the Yucatán Peninsula. The towering skylines of their magnificent high-rise cities loomed above the emerald rainforest. These architectural wonders, detailed with magnificently carved facades, were resplendent in artistic relief and hieroglyphic inscriptions. During the middle of the first millennium AD, these sophisticated urban centers were the largest cities on the planet (Figure 1-1). The sprawling Maya city-states were more than technologically dazzling examples of art and architecture conceived to overwhelm the observer with a sense of wonderment. These cities were centers of power, incubators of science and technology, seats of learning, and the hub of commercial operations that generated the wealth of the kingdom.
The embellished structures of these magnificent cities endured against all odds for more than a millennium after the demise of the Maya civilization (Figure 1-2). Resisting the degradation of the environment, the ravages of time, environmental disasters, and the prying roots of the encroaching jungle, the longevity of the structures is attributed to the innovative Maya technology employed in their construction. In addition to the advanced construction techniques preserving their cities, this brilliant society evolved scientific advances and technological methodologies that were a millennium in advance of similar discoveries by European sciences. Even more remarkable is that these advances in science and technology were created with little benefit of influence by outside cultures, unlike Europe.
Figure 1-1: Shining towers of Maya Classic Period cities rise high above the rainforest. Image by Peter Spier, National Geographic Archives.
Maya cities were planned and constructed on a grand scale with functional efficiency and artistic elegance. Each city, with its monumental palaces and temples, had a unique setting and was a triumph of grace and power. Maya architecture is unlike any other style in the world. Its inventive character of design is alien and bizarre, dissimilar to that of any other Mesoamerican culture and unlike any other world architectural style. What was the source of this unique Maya style? Like their advanced sciences and technology, their artistic style owes its inspiration to their veneration of the cosmos and its influence on the philosophy of the Maya civilization (Figure C-1). The Maya civilization, one of history’s longest-lived cultures, included more cities and pyramids than ancient Egypt. The Maya were governed by more than 50 independent city-states dispersed across the 125,000-square-mile area of the Maya world (Figure 1-3). Maya cities were the base of power for the elite class of royalty, scribes, scientists, intellectuals, and merchants, who energized the civilization for more than a millennium.
This was not a society that existed in the annals of lost prehistory, for which historical dating had to be performed by scientific data testing methods. Rather, the chronology of historical events has been determined with some exactitude by deciphering the written inscriptions and the accurate calendar system of the Maya. Their unique form of writing, once considered an unsolvable riddle, was undecipherable for a century after the rediscovery of the lost civilization. It did not become readable until the code was broken by brilliant epigraphers. The unfolding of the chronological events of their history, their epic adventures, and their scientific messages reads like an exciting historical novel. The thoughts, history, and accomplishments of this civilization became known to the world. Archaeologists have studied the abandoned cities and the inscribed art that was integrated into the facades of the Classic Period buildings. These inscriptions have provided abundant evidence of the accomplishments of this brilliant culture. Additionally, accomplishments of the Maya have been revealed through translations of their surviving books and other written documentation.
Though their achievements continue to fascinate the academic world, scholarly research devoted to the Maya has largely overlooked the technological achievements of Maya engineers. These technological achievements enabled the survival, health, and favorable lifestyles of the inhabitants who populated the world’s densest urban centers. Technology enabled the survival and growth of Maya society in spite of their precarious tropical environment, one that had an inconstant supply of rainwater, poor soil conditions, and a lack of surface water. Maya engineers successfully developed efficient water-management systems and technologically advanced agriculture systems that overcame the shortfalls of their environment and enabled the prosperity of the society.
Figure 1-2: The other-worldly art of the Maya looks down from pyramid at Ek Balam. Author’s image.
The Maya enjoyed the height of their golden age during the eighth and ninth centuries. Their Classic Period cities featured dramatic architecture, with high-rise pyramids smoothly coated in stucco and painted in brilliant colors laid out around grand plazas. The stepped pyramid structures topped by temples towered over art-adorned palaces, universities, ball courts, and public buildings. The grand Classic Period cities were purposely conceived to be awe-inspiring spectacles; the dazzling art and architecture was intended to impress all who viewed the array. These large city centers were planned urban spaces with nodes of artistically styled buildings connected by elevated paved roadways. Paved routes crossed the cityscape and extended out of the city into the hinterlands. This all-weather road system traversed the tangled and slippery jungle floor, smoothing the way for travelers. These roads served as the intercity transportation system required for trade and communication with other city-states. These Maya cities were centers of political, religious, educational, scientific, and business activities that managed the multifaceted affairs of the city-state. For more than 1,000 years, the Maya intellectual hierarchy practiced an efficient management system that enhanced and maintained the wealth of the city-state and the quality of life in the sprawling urban centers.
Since the rediscovery of the Maya civilization in the 19th century, there has been great interest in the Maya culture. Their advanced levels of scientific disciplines, with achievements in astronomy, mathematics, calendrics and written languages have amazed the Western world. At the height of their civilization, their scientific and technological achievements were more advanced than any other culture on the planet. They have been compared to the Egyptians for their use of hieroglyphic characters in their writing, to the Greeks for their development of advanced sciences, to the Romans for construction of well-drained, paved highways, and to the Phoenicians for long-range trade in seagoing vessels. In astronomy, they computed the time of the earth’s revolution around the sun to an accuracy that was more precise than that calculated by most modern scientific instruments. The Maya created written almanacs of solar and lunar cycles containing accurate predictions of eclipse cycles and charted cycles of Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn with great precision.
The mathematical system of the Maya was unique and well-suited to calculate large array numbers. The Maya mathematical system used a base of 20, rather than a base of 10 (used in European mathematics), and enabled the calculation of massive numbers using only three symbols in addition to the basic functions. Their development of positional mathematics enabled the calculation of numbers in magnitudes of the hundreds of trillions.
Calculations using their mathematical system are flexible and exquisite for large-magnitude astronomical calculations, as well as minute calculations for practical applications such as bookkeeping, census-taking, record-keeping, and engineering calculations. The Maya mathematical system was vastly superior to the Roman, Greek, and Egyptian systems. These other mathematical systems were limited in their scope of functions and confined to numbers in the positive mathematical range. The Maya understood the concept of the number zero and computation of large array calculations in the negative range 1,100 years before European mathematicians.
The Maya writing system is a unique development of this brilliant civilization and is one of the world’s five original written languages. Maya scripts are
considered to be one of the most visually distinctive writing systems in the world. The intricate and artistic flow of the characters creates a brilliantly derived art form for their language, which enabled them to write anything they could speak. The Maya script was the thread that bound together the sciences of astronomy, mathematics, and calendrics. The content of the narratives was not just the jotting of scribes trained to record proceedings. Maya scribes were of royal lineage, and as part of the royal family, they were part of the decision-making process. These masters of the written word not only chronicled the history of the Maya and executed daily correspondence that managed the city-state, but they wrote thousands of books dealing with numerous and diverse subjects including history, royal lineage, matters of astronomy, mathematics, calendrics, technology, medicine, law, ritual, music, and the natural history of plants and animals, among other subjects. During the Classic Period, from AD 250 to AD 900, the sophistication of Maya arts and sciences soared while Europe stumbled through the Dark Ages. When the Maya were enjoying the good life in their grand cities with populations of 100,000, London was a swampy river trading town with 9,000 inhabitants.
While Maya scientists achieved heights of scientific knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, and written chronicles, Maya technicians, the Americas’ first engineers, created unique high-rise buildings, designed an efficient water-management and infrastructure system, devised land and water transportation systems, and developed productive agricultural systems that trumped the environment and enhanced the wealth and power of the city-state. How did the Maya achieve these lofty accomplishments? What motivated their thirst for knowledge? What were the influences that aided their formula for success? The answer is “home cooking,” a cultural self-determinism motivated by the need to overcome their complex tropical environment while keeping their gaze turned to the heavens.
Figure 1-3: Map of Yucatán indicating major Maya cities. Author’s image.
Mesoamerican Influence on Maya Sciences
Mesoamerica is the term applied to an amoeba-shaped geographical area located in the Central American Isthmus (Figure 1-4). This culturally defined area extends from the northern Mexican highlands southward to the rainforests of Honduras, and encompasses the Maya homeland located in the Yucatán Peninsula. The most complex and advanced pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas excelled in this area. Mesoamerica is one of the five cradles of civilization on the planet—the others being Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. The Maya were influenced by Mesoamerican cultures predating or paralleling their ascendancy as the primary culture of the area. Mesoamerica was also was the domain of other developed civilizations, including the Olmec, Zapotec, Toltec, Teotihuacán, and Aztec cultures. The Maya shared common traits with other cultures due to the high degree of interaction that characterized cultures in the region. Cultural concepts and ideas were disseminated throughout the length of Mesoamerica through contact generated by long-range trading activities, rather than through conquest traditions. The Maya adopted these basic Mesoamerican concepts and enhanced them by creating advanced scientific and technological disciplines.
The Mesoamerican cultural tradition did not spring full-blown with the emergence of the Olmec in 1500 BC, but developed over millennia through the influence of numerous native cultures. The Olmec culture, which had a long-range influence across Mesoamerica, has been termed the “mother culture” by some scholars. Their unique art forms ranged from sculptures of giant stone heads to the intricate carving of jadeite figures and jewelry. Their influence on the Maya, including the notion of writing, lapidary skills, and the 260-day ceremonial calendar, is apparent. Though the elements of commonality are apparent, the wide diversity of Mesoamericans can be found in their language, politics, economics, social organization, art, styles, and other facets of their lifestyle.
Figure 1-4: Mesoamerica, the cradle of the Maya civilization. Author’s image.
In political organization, the contrast between central Mexico in the north of Mesoamerica and the Maya world was quite divergent. Political organization in central Mexico was based on a single central city controlling a sprawling empire consisting of large political states. These metropolitan centers emerged as imperial capitals, holding sway over the vast area of their domain. Imperial political organizations included the Teotihuacán Empire that paralleled the Maya Classic Period, the Toltec, and the Aztec Empire that flourished centuries after the decline of the Maya.
By contrast, the Maya world did not follow the political philosophy of the empire builders. Their political organization was based on small, independent polities. The basic political unit of the Maya was a sovereign city-state, placing emphasis on individuality. The urban centers of their city-states were home to tens of thousands of inhabitants, including the elite ruling classes, scientists, merchants, engineers, artisans, and other specialists. The majority of the populace dwelled in the hinterlands, in outlying agricultural areas and villages dispersed throughout the sovereign territory.
The cultivation of domestic agriculture products and creative agronomy had begun in Mesoamerica by 8000 BC. A great variety of agriculture products and efficient agriculture methods were developed by Mesoamerican cultures and enhanced by the Maya. These agriculture innovations culminated in successful farming methods, producing the rich harvests of the Classic Period. The diverse and sophisticated Maya agriculture methodologies overcame the adverse environment and enabled enhanced food production. The innovative systems included permanent raised fields, terracing, aquaculture, canal irrigation systems, and wild harvesting. During the Classic Period, these systems became a critical part of supporting the large city populations in addition to a surplus of food for trading.
The major agriculture product of Mesoamerica was maize, which, to this day, remains Mesoamerica’s major food staple. Maize was domesticated around 4000 BC through a process of selective cultivation by Mesoamericans. The propagation of maize, which is totally dependent on human agronomy, was derived from the native plant teosinte. A 7,000-year-old fossil maize pollen grain has been recovered in Tabasco, and a 5,000-year-old pollen has been encountered in the Maya domain. Maya agronomists enhanced the varieties of maize, creating a wide range of cultivars that expanded their agriculture capabilities.
The significance of an abundant agriculture has played a major role in the growth of successful civilizations. Efficient agriculture practices enabled by technology reduced the distance from points of cultivation to the marketplace and produced an abundant harvest enabling the feeding of a large population while producing a food surplus. This surplus enabled sufficient food for trade and subsequent economic enhancement.
A great variety of foodstuffs were part of the Mesoamerican way of life. They included agricultural products, domesticated animals, and wild game. Crops included maize, beans, tomatoes, chili peppers, squash, avocado, papaya, guava, yam, manioc, amaranth, vanilla, plums, achiote, zapote, annona, peanuts, pineapple, sweet potato, sunflower, cacao, and the fruit of the Ramon tree. The Mesoamericans optimized the available animals that could be domesticated, including the duck, turkey, dog, and the stingless bee. They hunted wild land and water species to complement their diet. These included the deer, peccary, armadillo, manatee, tapir, rabbit, monkey, fowl, fish, turtle, caiman, insects, and iguana. Dogs were a major source of protein in Mesoamerica.
The legacy of Maya agricultural genius changed the world’s eating habits. The conquistadors brought the Maya agricultural products to Europe and Asia, and these foodstuffs changed the tastes of many countries. We still benefit from Maya agriculture today. Can one imagine the change in Thai, Indian, or Chinese food without chili peppers? Roaming the aisles of a modern supermarket, the agricultural legacy of our Maya antecedents becomes apparent. Observe the commercial offerings contributed by the Maya: tomatoes, squash, chili peppers, beans, avocado, sweet potato, papaya, chocolate, peanuts, vanilla, pineapple, jicama, sunflower seeds, and a wide variety of other foodstuffs.
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auna did not include beasts of burden, such as cows, horses, and donkeys. The lack of work animals created a void in the animal power available for transportation and agriculture, resulting in the development of a special Maya technology using manpower for transportation, lifting, and cartage.
The Influence of the Natural Environment on Maya Sciences
Maya civilization and its technological developments were greatly influenced by the diversity and demands of their natural environment. The interaction of the lithosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere of their remarkable environment presented unique and complex challenges to Maya engineers. The blossoming of the Maya civilization, the survival of their densely populated cities, and their agriculture bounty were dependent on technological solutions for resolving adverse environmental conditions.
Geographically, the Maya zone lies in some of the most diverse terrain of the tropics, the Yucatán Peninsula making up the principal geographic landform of their domain. Bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the southwest, it extends northward, jutting outward from the mid-America isthmus, forming a landmass that divides the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Geologically, the Yucatán Peninsula is a broad flat shelf of karstic limestone that extends on a north-south axis from the base of massive volcanic mountains as they curve southeastward along the Pacific Coast. The climate of the Maya world is dependent partially on this geography. The hot tropical climate of the rainforests in the lowlands (Figure 1-5) contrasts with the temperate climate of the high volcanic mountains in the southern highlands (Figure 1-6).
The diversity of the climate is compounded by unique rainfall patterns. The Maya world has some of the heaviest yearly rainfall in the tropics. Approximately 75 percent of the total yearly rainfall occurs during the six-month rainy season. The lack of precipitation during the dry season creates drought-like conditions for the area, creating a seasonal desert. The Maya faced alternating conditions of deluge or drought each year. In order to survive, Maya cities and the civilization as a whole required a reliable year-round source of water. This need for water management presented a challenge for Maya technology.
The Lost Secrets of Maya Technology Page 2
